Patent GB-393301-A (GB)
Abstract: 393,301. Ticket printing, issuing, and fare-registering machines. WOOD, A. W., 50, Harold Road, Norwood, London. Nov. 24, 1931, No. 32521. [Classes 106 (i) and 106 (iii).] In a portable ticket printing and issuing machine a ticket strip is pressed without friction against variably set type drums by a platen roller movable across the face of the type and mounted in a carriage pivoted directly on a part carrying the operating handle. Fare printing drum 6, class drum 11 and units and tens stage drums 12, 13, extend to the plane of apertures in a resiliently rubber mounted plate 38 bearing fixed matter and are set by click retained finger wheels 8, 17 and 23 respectively. The finger wheel 23 is carried on a shaft 24 movable in or out according to whether the units drum only or the units and tens drum are to be rotated. The wheels 8 and 17 are marked around their periphery for setting purposes and marked wheels 39a, 40 are provided to indicate the setting of the stage drums 12, 13. A rod 39 withdrawable and rotatable to position a new printing surface in the printing plane can be used for printing "up," " down," &c. Serial number printing drums 34 are actuated on the return movement of the machine. The rubber platen roller 57 is mounted between two arms 53, 55 connected at intermediate points forming a carriage pivoted at 58 to a pair of bell-crank levers 44, 45 pivoted at 46 and carrying between them the manual operating handle 48. The inking roller 51 is mounted between two arms 54, 56 connected at intermediate points to form a carriage mounted on the pivot 58. The inking roller is provided with a shield interposed between itself and the platen. Helical springs 60, 62 surround the pivot pin 58 and cause the platen and inking rollers respectively to be pressed towards the type. The bell crank levers 44, 45 are connected together by a plate which normally rests on a buffer 52 of rubber secured to the finger plate 51. On pulling down the handle 48 the inking roller 61 passes over the printing surfaces, being pressed upwards by the springs 62 and by the pressure exerted by the platen carriage 53, 55, the platen roller 57 following the inking roller and rolling through wheels 63, 64 up the incline on the pivoted spring-pressed runners 65, 66, the platen roller being pressed towards the type by the springs 60 and the spring-pressed runners 65, 66. Movement of the handle 48 is limited by the pivot pin 58 meeting a buffer 69 and when this happens the inking roller has passed away from the type and the platen roller has passed the free ends of the runners 65, 66 which are thus released to be spring pulled upwards. On the return movement of the bell crank levers 44, 45 under the action of the springs 50, 60, 62, the inking roller passes back over the type to ink it and the wheels 63, 64 of the platen carriage run on the lower edges of the runners to maintain the platen roller away from the type. Instead of employing runners the platen roller can be moved away from the type by a ramp and a pawl engaged to hold the platen away from the type. By the arrangement described the type is inked twice during one cycle of the machine, the inking roller being replenished by an ink feed pot or ink saturated pad 70. The ticket strip roll is held on a spindle 71 and the free end of the strip passes between the platen 57 and the inking pad shield, between rollers 72, 73, and beneath a fixed guide 74 and a cutter 75 which is preferably serrated to facilitate tearing. The roller 73 is mounted in a resilient rubber bearing and the roller 72 is rotated to feed the ticket strip on the return movement of the handle 48 through ratchet and pinion gearing 76 .. 79. By this arrangement the strip is not pulled over the type by the platen on the operative movement, the platen rolling under and pressing the ticket strip on to the type without friction, the roller 73 holding the roller 72 against rotation. A full stroke device for the operating handle 48 is provided comprising a pawl 82 which engages teeth on the inside of the gear wheel 79 actuated by the handle 48 and which is released on the upward movement of the runner 66 at the end of the operative stroke, a finger 84 on the runner engaging a projection on the pawl. The units drum of the serial number printing device 34 is actuated by a pawl 36 carried by a carriage 37 mounted on an axle 35 rotated on the return movement of the gear wheel 79 through a pin 86 on a spoke of the gear wheel engaging the spring- controlled bell crank lever 85 pivoted on the spindle 35. A pivoted lever 88 when operated engages a notch in the gear wheel 79 and prevents rotation of the gear wheel past this notch so that subsequent operation of the machine allows movement of the inking and printing rollers over the serial number drums and no further and allows a movement of the gear wheel 79 whereby a sufficient amount of ticket strip is fed out bearing the serial number of the next ticket to be issued. This movement of the machine is not sufficient to cause the operation of the serial number drums or to allow the full-stroke pawl 82 to engage the teeth on the inner periphery of the gear wheel 79. The gear wheel 79 could be replaced by a chain and sprocket or gear train. A recording arrangement such as described in Specification 297,132, [Class 106 (iii), Fares &c.], may be provided for checking the tickets issued, by perforating a paper strip in code. Time factors may be marked on the ticket by time printing drums set by the conductor or by an official with a special key. In the construction shown in Fig. 5, the platen carriage 15 carries a cutting edge 18 and is pivoted at 24 on arms 12 which carry the operating handle and inking roller 14 and which pass through the swivel 11, printing taking place by a pull on the handle, the handle being lifted on the return movement to bring the platen away from the type, the ticket strip being gripped between the platen 16 and the shield 17 of the inking roller. The platen carriage is held towards the type by a spring surrounding the pivot 24. An ink feed pot 7 is provided. In the construction shown in Fig. 6 the L-shaped member 12 slides in a tube 23 in the wall of which a channel is cut. The platen roller 16 is carried by two arms 15 pivoted at 24 on the member 12 carrying the inking roller 14 having a shield 17 which contacts with the platen 16 and is held lightly thereon by a spring 20. Printing takes place by a straight pull on the member .12, a tilting movement being given to the member 12 on the return movement to hold the platen away from the type, the ticket strip being carried between the shield 17 and platen 16. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the platen carriage instead of being formed by the arms 53, 55 may be pivoted to the arms 54, 56 carrying the inking roller 61 in a similar manner to that shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Counting-apparatus with variable-step movement.-Fares are registered by the arrangement ment shown in Fig. 7 in which the shaft A is rotated to set the fare printing drum B secured to shaft A which also has secured to it the disc C with spiral D of flat resilient metal, the end of the spiral being steeply inclined and bent inwardlv and not fixed to the disc C. Loose on the shaft A is a gear wheel E engaging a gear wheel F driven from the operating mechanism, the wheel E having a slot through which passes a pin H having one end resting on the spiral D and the other end fixed to the pawl G pivoted on the wheel E and spring urged in the direction of the ratchet wheel J secured to sleeve M and gear wheel K loose on shaft A, the gear wheel K meshing with gear wheel L to operate counting mechanism O. The setting of the drum B determines when the pin H reaches the incline at the end of the spiral and allows the pawl G to engage the wheel J and thus determines the fraction of the operating cycle during which the counting mechanism O is driven to register fares.